Essentials of Criminal Justice, Fifth Edition Larry J. Siegel & Joseph J. Senna

Chapter 1Crime and Criminal Justice

The Study of Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice: Studies the system of law enforcement,

adjudication and correction that is directly involved in the

apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with a

criminal offense.

Criminology: Studies the etiology (origin), extent, and nature of

crime in society.

Why are the two fields of study not mutually exclusive?

The Criminal Justice System

A loosely organized collection of agencies charged with protecting

the public, maintaining order, enforcing the law, identifying

transgressors, bringing the guilty to justice, and treating criminal

behavior.

The Criminal Justice Process

The decision-making points from the initial investigation or arrest by

police to the eventual release of the offender and his or her reentry

into society; the various sequential criminal justice stages through

which the offender passes.

Is Crime a Recent Development?

Crime and violence have been common since the nation was first

formed.

Post-Civil War expansion to the west gave rise to famous criminals

such as John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kidd, and Johnny Ringo as

well as famous law men such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

Crime rate may actually have been much higher in the 19th and 20th

centuries than it is today.

Crime at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

1900 – 1935 we saw a sustained increase in criminal activity

Criminal gangs formed before the Civil War in urban slums became

the forerunners of modern day organized crime families

Depression era outlaws

Developing the Criminal Justice System

1829 – London Metropolitan Police created

1919 – Establishment of the Chicago Crime Commission

1931 – National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement

(Wickersham Commission) created by President Hoover

The Modern Era of Justice

The Modern Era of Justice can be traced to a series of research

projects beginning in 1950s by the American Bar Foundation

For the first time the term criminal justice system began to be

used

Focused on the criminal justice process

Examination of the use of discretion

Federal Involvement in Criminal Justice

1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and

Administration of Justice

1968 Safe Streets Acts provided funding for the Law Enforcement

Assistance Administration (LEAA)

1979 National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

renamed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

The Criminal Justice System Today

Formal social control

Informal social control

Agencies of the Criminal Justice System

Over 55,000 public agencies employing over 2 million people serve

as society’s instrument of social control

Three Major components

Law Enforcement (17,000 agencies)

Courts (17,000 courts; 8,000 prosecutorial agencies)

Corrections (6,000 institutions; 3,500 probation and parole

departments)

Agencies of the Criminal Justice System (cont.)

System costs federal, state, and local governments approximately

$165 billion per year for civil and criminal justice

Has increased more than 300 % since 1982

The Formal Criminal Justice Process

Initial contact

Investigation

Arrest

Custody

Charging

Preliminary hearing/grand jury

Arraignment

Bail/detention

The Formal Criminal Justice Process (continued)

Plea bargaining

Trial/adjudication

Sentencing/disposition

Appeal/postconviction remedies

Correctional treatment

Release

Postrelease

Figure 1.3 Critical Stages in the Justice Process

The Informal Criminal Justice Process

Courtroom Work Group

Prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and others

Function to streamline the process of justice through the

extensive use of plea bargaining and other alternatives

Figure 1.4 The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake

Source: Based onSamuel Walker,Sense andNonsense AboutCrime (Belmont,Calif.: Wadsworth,2001).

The Crime Control Perspective

Emphasizes the control of dangerous offenders and the protection of

society. Its advocates call for harsh punishments as a deterrent to

crime, such as the death penalty

Purpose of the justice system is to deter crime through the

application of punishment

The more efficient the system, the greater its effectiveness

The justice system is not equipped to treat people but to

investigate crimes, apprehend suspects and punish the guilty

The Rehabilitation Perspective

Primary purpose is to care for people who cannot manage

themselves. Crime is an expression of frustration and anger created

by social inequality that can be controlled by giving people the

means to improve their lifestyle through conventional endeavors

In the long run, it is better to treat than punish

Criminals are society’s victims

Helping others is part of the American culture

The Due Process Perspective

Primary focus in on the defendant’s rights to prevent the wrongful

conviction of an innocent person

Need to preserve Constitutional rights and democratic ideals

takes precedence over the need to punish the guilty

Decisions must be carefully scrutinized to avoid errors

Everyone must be treated equally and fairly

Illegally seized evidence must be suppressed even if the guilty go

fee

Legal counsel should be provided at every stage of the process,

regardless of cost, to prevent abuse

Nonintervention Perspective

The justice system should limit its involvement with criminal

defendants so as to avoid the inevitable harmful and long-term

negative effects

The justice system stigmatizes offenders

Stigma locks people into a criminal way of life

Less is better. Decriminalize, divert and deinstitutionalize

whenever possible

Justice Perspective

The greatest challenge for the system is to dispense fair and equal

justice to those who come before the law

Equal treatment for equal crimes

Structured justice

Reduced use of discretion

Inconsistent treatment produces disrespect for the system

Restorative Justice Perspective

True purpose of the criminal justice system should be to promote a

peaceful and just society by engaging in peacemaking rather than

punishment

Offenders should be reintegrated back into society

Coercive punishments are self-defeating

The justice system must become more humane

Perspectives in Perspective

Crime Control and Justice Models have dominated during the past

decade

Rehabilitative efforts have not been abandoned

No single view is the right or correct one.

Ethics in Criminal Justice

Requires members of the system to apply equal and fair justice

Difficult because criminal justice often functions in an environment

where moral ambiguity is the norm

Important because of the enormous power granted to criminal

justice employees

Ethics in law enforcement

Ethics in the court process

Ethics in the corrections process